Why bypassing Bangladesh and connecting Northeast with Kolkata via Myanmar is important for India
In light of the situation, India realised that completing the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) that links Mizoram to Kolkata via Myanmar has become of the utmost importance.
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India.com
20-05-2025
- India.com
Big move by Modi government as India plans to bypass Bangladesh with..., anti India Yunus can only...
Bangladesh in deep trouble after clashing with Modi govt as this 'Report Card' will shake anti-India Yunus, it is about... Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project: After Sheikh Hasina was removed from power in August 2024 and the interim government of Bangladesh led by Muhammad Yunus came to power, India-Bangladesh relations have only worsened. Moreover, the anti-India stance of the Yunus government has forced India to rethink its strategic issues. As a result, India is now prioritizing connectivity through Myanmar rather than relying on Bangladesh to have strategic control over its Northeast region, more specifically the Siliguri Corridor, called the 'chicken's neck' of India. As part of its Act East Policy, India is fast-tracking the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, which connects Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar, avoiding the narrow and vulnerable Siliguri corridor, thus bypassing Bangladesh. About Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project Experts say that the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project is the most significant project that India has undertaken in Myanmar. The Multi Modal Transit Transport Project, jointly identified by India and Myanmar was aimed to create a multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar. The purpose of the project also included to connect the northeastern region of India through Myanmar. As per a report carried by news agency IANS, the project provides a strategic link to the North-East, thereby reducing pressure on the Siliguri Corridor. The historic project includes a waterway component of 158 km on the river Kaladan, from Sittwe to Paletwa. The project also includes a road component of 109 km from Paletwa to Zorinpui, on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram. Readers should note that the project started in 2008 but due to various reasons including the ethnic conflicts in Myanmar, the project growth has slowed down. However, as per the officials in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), the delay in completion of the vital project owing to numerous reasons, the cost of the project has increased eight to nine times. How Kaladan Transport Project will help India bypass Bangladesh After the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project is completed, the Kolkata-Mizoram route will be shortened by about 1,000 km, saving 3–4 days of travel time and also reduce India's dependence on Bangladesh. (With inputs from agencies)
India Today
20-05-2025
- India Today
How India will bypass Bangladesh roads and roadblocks
New Delhi seems to be hitting back at Dhaka, after Bangladesh's interim government chief, Muhammad Yunus, brought up India's "landlocked" north-east during his visit to China. While India has restricted some Bangladeshi exports into India through land routes, it is also working to revive an alternative multi-modal corridor to connect the Seven Sisters, bypassing the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August 2024, India has faced a not-so-friendly Bangladesh. That's because forces that thought India helped the Hasina regime filled the power including Muhammad Yunus, have made remarks inimical to the long-standing ties between the two countries, and the remarks on the northeast states were the latest in that series. The interim government hasn't acted against the extremist anti-India voices that have gained mainstream space since Hasina's departure. India's move to restrict the import of Bangladeshi goods, including its prized garments, comes after New Delhi in April scrapped a transshipment agreement that had allowed Bangladeshi goods to pass through India for export to third a result, as many as 36 trucks loaded with garments worth Rs 5.5 crore have been left stranded at the Benapole border, reported the Dhaka India has accelerated work on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), aimed at connecting Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar's Sittwe Port. The project, which significantly shortens the distance between Kolkata and the Northeast states, is partially complete, with the Indian government now stepping up efforts to finish the remaining segments. advertisementINDIA RESTRICTS TRADE WITH BANGLADESHIn April, India terminated a 2020 transshipment agreement that allowed Bangladeshi exports, particularly garments, to be routed through Indian territory to third last week, also imposed restrictions on Bangladeshi goods via land ports. This is likely to impact goods worth $770 million, about 42% of total bilateral imports, according to a Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), reported news agency these measures are yielding results, India is also focusing on long-term strategies to bypass Bangladesh and directly connecting its northeastern states with the rest of the country, as Dhaka appears to be visibly tilting towards an expansionist now, the narrow Siliguri Corridor, referred to as the Chicken's Neck, is the only land route connecting the Northeast of India to the rest of the country. All other land routes pass via has long been wary of China's growing influence in South Asia, including in Bangladesh, where Beijing is expanding its footprint through infrastructure projects under the "debt-trapping" Belt and Road SIDE OF KALADAN PROJECT COMPLETE: MIZORAM GUV VK SINGHAt the heart of India's strategy to bypass Bangladesh is the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), a $500-million initiative to connect Kolkata to Mizoram via April 25, Mizoram Governor General VK Singh announced that construction of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project had been completed on the Indian side, reported The Times of greenfield Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor, approved by the Union Cabinet last week, is poised to enhance the KMMTTP by extending the route from Mizoram's Aizawl into other parts of the Northeast, including central Assam and Shillong in Meghalya."It [Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor] will become a major connectivity link for the entire Northeast and an important milestone for developing the region as a gateway for India's Act East Policy," an official of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), told The Indian Express NHIDCL is the implementing body of the Kaladan project. The current road route between Silchar and Shillong is 210 km and takes over 8 hours; the new high-speed highway will reduce the distance by 31 km and cut travel time by over 3 hours. (Image: Google Maps) "With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the Northeast, without being dependent on Bangladesh. The high-speed corridor will ensure transportation of goods via road after that, which will spur economic activity in the region," the NHIDCL official Shillong-Silchar high-speed corridor will be extended to Mizoram's Zorinpuri, where the KMMTTP project route enters India, before terminating in the capital city of Aizawl, said the Indian Express December 2024, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the KMMTTP was expected to be completed by July 2025, reported The Assam route would not only bypass the rail and road routes from Kolkata to Northeast India through Bangladesh, but would also help in eliminating the need to move goods through the narrow Siliguri Corridor. The Chicken's Neck is a narrow 22-km-wide strategic corridor in West Bengal that connects the northeastern states to the rest of India. (File Image) WHAT'S KALADAN PROJECT AND HOW IT WILL BYPASS BANGLADESHThe KMMTTP, a multimodal project jointly conceived by India and Myanmar in 2008, combines maritime, riverine, and road goods and people travel between Kolkata and the northeastern states either through the longer Siliguri Corridor or via Bangladesh. The Bangladesh route includes road and rail links from Kolkata to Dhaka, as well as the Akhaura-Agartala connectivity by both road and the KMMTTP, in present circumstances, could offer a much shorter route than the one via the Siliguri KMMTTP, once complete, would first enable ships to travel from Kolkata to Sittwe Port in Myanmar's Rakhine State, initially on the Hooghly River and then through the Bay of Bengal. From Sittwe, goods would be transported via the Kaladan River to Paletwa town in Chin Paletwa, a 109-km road would lead to the town of Zorinpui on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram. Once completed, the KMMTTP will reduce travel time and distance between Kolkata and the Northeast considerably, compared to the current route through works on the Indian stretch and the construction of Sittwe Port, the river terminal at Paletwa, and dredging of the Kaladan River, have been completed, according to a December 2024 piece in The Week magazine. The completion on the Indian side has also been confirmed by Mizoram Governor General VK Singh. A map showing the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, connecting Kolkata to Mizoram via Myanmar through sea, river, and road routes. (Image: India Today/ Vipul Kumar) advertisementIn February 2022, IRCON, a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, was appointed as the implementing agency for the construction of the 109-km road from Paletwa to Zorinpui, reported the PSU Watch news due to political instability, logistical challenges, and security concerns in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the road between Myanmar's Paletwa and Mizoram's Zorinpui remains was in fact the town of Paletwa that has witnessed intense fighting amid Myanmar's civil war, with the military junta locked in a violent armed conflict against the Arakan these roadblocks, a recent statement made by Abhay Thakur, India's Ambassador to Myanmar, in April 2025 suggests that work is underway on the incomplete Myanmar section of the Kaladan project, and there is hope that it is moving towards completion."Myanmar, under the framework of both the 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East' policies, is an important developmental partner of India. To begin with, we are engaged in several strategically significant projects, including the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project," Thakur told news agency Bangladesh courting China and India tightening the trade screws, the Kaladan Project is not a detour, but a major diplomatic flex of New Delhi. With the completion of the Kaladan project, India would not just create a new route to the northeast but also open a road to development in the region, despite all the Watch
Deccan Herald
18-05-2025
- Deccan Herald
Why bypassing Bangladesh and connecting Northeast with Kolkata via Myanmar is important for India
In light of the situation, India realised that completing the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) that links Mizoram to Kolkata via Myanmar has become of the utmost importance.
